A.L.M. Nicolas published his book Seyyed Ali dit le Bab. It was the first work by a western author dedicated entirely to the Báb, His movement and His teachings. (Conflict: See 1865)
• English translation A Prophet of Modern Times by Peter Terry.

  It is "(a) history of the Bábí movement up to 1852. Nicolas gives a list of sources for this book on pp. 48-53. It is interesting to note that among his oral sources are four of the leading Bahá'ís of that period, who had been designated by Bahá'u'lláh as 'Hands of the Cause': Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad, 'Ibn-i-Asdaq: Mullá 'Al-Akbar-i-Sháhmírzádí, Hají Akhund; Mírzá Muhammad-Táqíy-i-Abharí, 'Ibn-i-Abhar; and Mírzá Hasan-i-Adíb. The other two oral sources named are Siyyid 'Ismu'lláh, who was presumably Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dihají, and Mírzá Yahyá, Subh-i-Azál." [BBR38-39]

• The preamble to his book has an image that is supposedly of the Báb, but the portrait does not seem to be an authentic representation.

• William Miller also reproduced Nicolas's image on page 17 of his polemical work, The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings. (South Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1974). ['The Bab in the World of Images', Bahá'í Studies Review, vol. 19, June 2013, 171–90.]
• See also WOB83 for other missionaries who wrote polemics against the Bahá'í Faith.

The publication of Fifty-Three Years in Syria by Reverend H. H. Jessup. (Apologies: this link does not have the same text as found on SBBR1p78) [Collins10.818]
• This same Reverend Jessup who delivered the address to the World Parliament of Religions in 1894 in Chicago seemed to have revised his opinion about the Faith. Perhaps this was due to the dis-information being spread by the Covenant-breakers after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh.
• He also published Babism and the Babites in "The Missionary Review of the World", Princeton, NJ Oct 1902 p771-775 and The Babites in "The Outlook", London, 22 June 1901 p451-456. [Collins11.574, 11.575]
• See also WOB83 for other missionaries who wrote polemics against the Bahá'í Faith.

"Each one of you should have a copy. Read, memorize and reflect upon it. Then, when accusations and criticisms are advanced . . . you will be well armed."[The Brilliant Proof]

The Brilliant Proof was first translated by Ali Kuli Khan and published by the Bahá'í News Service in Chicago in 1912 in which it said: "Written in response to published attacks on the Bahá'í Religion by the British clergyman Peter Z Easton" (1846-1915). [Collins7.15 p41]

Peter Easton (1846-1915) was a Presbyterian in the Synod of the Northeast in New York who had been stationed in Tabriz from 1873 to 1880. While 'Abdul'Bahá was in England Easton attempted to meet and challenge him. He made those around him uncomfortable and 'Abdu'l-Bahá withdrew him to a private conversation and then after which he left. Later he was able to have printed a polemic attack on the religion, Bahaism — A Warning, in the Evangelical Christendom newspaper of London (Sept.-Oct. 1911 edition.) It was published in the Appendix of The Brilliant Proof (p70-80) [Bahaipedia]

For more on Peter Easton see 'Abdu'l-Bahá (p149-152).

Lady Blomfield in her book The Chosen Highway (p183) described such a visit and the affect it had on 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

In the morning 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk at His apartment at #4 Avenue de Camoens. During the talk Muhammad Qazvíní and Siyyid Hasan Taqízásih entered the room. The former had written an introduction for and was the force behind the publication of Kitáb-i-Nuqtatu'l-Káf, a book that supposedly was an early history of the Faith but in reality was heavily biased to the the views of Mírzá Yahya. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had had Mírzá Abdu'l-Fadl write a refutation to the book. Both men had additional dinner engagements with 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His visit. ['Abdu'l-Bahá's Meetings with Two Prominent Iranians, World Order, Fall 1998 Vol 30, no 1 pp35-46, ABF71-76]
• In the afternoon all were invited to meet Him at #22 rue Ledru- Rollin pré-Saint-Germais-sur-Seine outside the walls of Paris. The purpose was to visit a project run by Mons. V. Ponsonaille and his wife to provide some comfort to the poor children in an underprividged quarter of the city. For an account of this event see Glimpses of Abdul'Bahá in Paris by Alice Beede.[ABF76-79; SYH45]
  • See A Glimpse of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris by Alice R. Beede. [SoW Vol 2 No 18 February 7, 1912 p6]

The publication of The Brilliant Proof by Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpáygání in Chicago by the Bahai News Service, 1912. The first edition notes state that it was written December 28, 1911, in Syria, "by the pen of Mirza Abul Fazl Gulpaygan."
• 239D93 says this book was written by Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in answer to a London minister's criticism of the Cause.
• The publication of this book marked the end of an early era of Bahá'í teaching in the West. As 'Abdu'l-Bahá continued his journeys in the United States and Canada, He delivered hundreds of public talks and private addresses which were tailored to Western audiences. The fresh outpouring of teachings which resulted from these encounters produced a new Bahá'í literature of the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the West. Examples include the following: The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá During His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912, compiled by Howard MacNutt, (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1922-25); Paris Talks: Addresses Given by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912 (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1912); 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London.

The publication of The Persian Rival to Jesus, And His American Disciples by Robert P. Richardson. This 24-page "history" concludes by saying, "And Bahaism is simply a sectarian religion; it is a reversion to modes of thought that the ideals of civilization have long ago outgrown."
• See also WOB83 for other missionaries who wrote polemics against the Bahá'í Faith.

The publication of Bahá'ism: Its Origins, History and Teachings by Reverend William McElwee Miller, a Presbyterian missionary working in Mashhad, Iran. He wrote the "All impartial observers of Bahá'ism in Persia are agreed that here in the land of its birth this religion...is now steadily losing ground...It is only a matter of time until this strange movement...shall be known only to students of history." [MCSp766]
• In 1923 he visited Shoghi Effendi in Haifa. [SETPE1p62]
• See 1974 when he published the updated version of his polemic entitledThe Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings.

The publication in Iran of The Political Confessions or Memoirs of Prince Dolgoruki (or, simply, Dolgorukov's Memoirs). The book contends that the Bábí Faith was simply an element in a plot to destabilize Iran and Islam. [22 February, 2009 Iran Press Watch]
• See Religious Contentions in Modern Iran, 1881-1941 by Dr Mina Yazdani where she posits that "The process of Othering the Bahá'ís had at least three components; 1) religious, carried on by the traditionalist theologians; 2) institutional and formal, sanctioned by the state; and 3) political, the result of a joint and gradual process in which Azalīs, former Bahá'ís and reformist theologians all played a role. This process reached its culmination with the widespread publication of The Confessions of Dolgoruki which resulted in a fundamental paradigm shift in the anti-Bahá'í discourse. With the widespread impression of Bahá'ís as spies of foreign powers, what up to that point constituted a sporadic theme in some anti-Bahá'í polemics now became the dominant narrative of them all, including those authored by traditionalist clerics. Consequently, as Iran entered the 1940s, the process that would transform Islamic piety to political ideology was well under way."
• In its preface, Dolgorukov's Memoirs purported to be a translation of the memoirs of Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov (Russian Minister in Iran from 1845-54), first published in the official organ of the Soviet Communist Party. According to the book, whose Russian "original" has never been found, Prince Dolgorukov had travelled to Iran during the 1830s, entered the ranks of the 'ulama, and instigated the Bábí-Bahá'í uprising. The book totally contradicted the well-documented life of Prince Dolgorukov, and made obvious chronological and historical mistakes in its allegations about the lives of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. Nevertheless, it was reprinted many times, and created a master narrative that others subsequently deployed. With its political tone, the book, on the one hand, heralded the ascendancy of politics over religion in the mindset of Iran's Shi'a clergy, and on the other, demonstrated the vast popularity that conspiracy theories enjoyed in Iran. [Iran Press Watch 1407] iiiii

Note:Amir Kabir was the 19th century Iranian Qajar minister who ordered the execution of many members of the early Bahá'í movement. [Iran Press Watch 1407]

Followers of Charles Mason Remey filed suit in the United States District Court for Northern Illinois against the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, claiming they were the rightful owners of all Bahá'í properties and funds in the United States. [BW14:95]
• The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States filed a counter-claim asking the court to restrain the Covenant-breakers from using Bahá'í names and symbols protected by trademark. [BW14:95]

In Germany, Hermann Zimmer resurrected the claims of Ruth White in a small book published in 1971 (English translation in 1973), A Fraudulent Testament devalues the Bahá'í Religion into Political Shogism.
• In Switzerland, Francesco Ficicchia wrote a comprehensive attack aimed mainly at the Bahá'í administration,
• Der Bah'ismus Weltreligion der Zunkunft? (Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, Quell Verlag, Stuttgart, 1981).
  • See The Refutation of Francesco Ficicchia and the Dangers of Silence by Jack McLean.
• Both of these works were financed and distributed by Evangelical Protestant organizations in Germany. [The Covenant and Covenant-breaker by Moojan Momen]

The publication of The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings by Reverend William McElwee Miller. This book was an update of his 1931 publication Bahá'ism: Its Origin, History and Teachings. Forty-three years earlier he had predicted that the Bahá'í Faith would soon only be known to students of history. Now he revised his assessment to say, "Whoever peruses the thousands of pages of the thirteen large volumes of The Bahá'í World will be impressed by the fact that the Bahá'í Faith is indeed a world faith." [MCSp766]
• See The Cyprus Exiles p102 by Moojan Momen for information on how Miller got a great deal of material for his book.
• See "Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith" by Douglas Martin published in Bahá'í Studies, volume 4.
• In 1940 William McElwee Miller published and article titled "The Bahá'í Cause Today" in The Moslem World (Vol XXX October 1940 page 389). The periodical was described as being "A Christian quarterly review of current events, literature and thought among Mohammedans." Marzieh Gail published a rebuttal in World Order Vol 7 Issue 2 May 1941 p46-63.

The publication of Der Bahā'ismus, Weltreligion der Zukunft?: Geschichte, Lehre und Organisation in Kritischer Anfrage (Bahá'ism-Religion of the Future? History, Doctrine and Organization: A Critical Inquiry) by Francesco Ficicchia under the auspices of the Central Office of the Protestant Church for Questions of Ideology in Germany. This book was distributed by the Protestant Church and became the most widespread book on the Bahá'í Faith in German, and as such was widely accepted as a critical academic publication. At the time of its distribution a decision was taken to not dignify the publication with a rebuttal. This proved to be an error. Making the Crooked Straight was published in 1995 in German and translated/published by George Ronald Publishers in 2000. The purpose of the book, as the name suggests, was to address the distorted views presented in Ficicchia's publication. [MCSintroduction]
• See The Refutation of Francesco Ficicchia and the Dangers of Silence by Jack McLean.

The Islamic Research Academy at the Azhar University in Cairo published in a number of newspapers a lengthy opinion about the Bahá'í Faith in advance of the court cases of Bahá'ís due to be heard in February. [BW19:286]
• "The essence of the statement is that the condemnation of the Bahá'ís should not be only based on charges of the Bahá'ís resuming activities and holding meetings, but rather on their beliefs. Consequently all Bahá'ís should be incriminated and not only those who allegedly have disobeyed a particular law." [Ref Enayat below]
• For a refutation of this statement by the Bahá'í International Community, see BW19:288–96 and "Far Stretching River".
• Also see Commentary on the Azhar's Statement regarding Bahá'ís and Bahá'ísm by Moshen Enayat.
  • "It (the commentary) was sent to the main daily Egyptian newspapers, all of which had published the Azhar statement under large headlines. It was also sent to some suitable senior officials, such as the Minister of Information and the Speaker of Parliament. To our knowledge no newspaper has published it. "
  • "The accusations listed in the statement are mostly repetitions of previous allegations, except for its inference that the unanimous opposition of Muslims to the Bahá'í Faith is a proof of its error; an assertion implicitly invoking the tradition attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that the unanimity of the Muslim nation cannot be infallible. The importance of the statement consisted in its attempt to make the condemnation of the Bahá'í Faith a doctrinal assertion, and as a consequence, tremendous pressure was exerted by some religious deputies on the speaker of the Egyptian parliament to pass a bill which stipulated that conversion to the Bahá'í Faith was an act of apostasy punishable by death."

The publication of Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories on the Genesis and Mission of the Bahá'í Faith by Adib Ma'sumian. It was written in response to Iranian conspiracy theories portraying the Bahá'í Faith as a subversive political group, Zionist spies, affiliates of the secret police, British agents, etc. PDFs of the publication are available in English and Persian. Included as well is an interview with author.
• A hardcopy of the book can be purchased from Lulu.